A new study has found that nearly 200 chemicals linked to breast cancer are used in the production of food packaging and plastic tableware, with 76 of these carcinogens capable of migrating into the human body. The study, published in the journal "Frontiers in Toxicology," was conducted by the Food Packaging Forum, a nonprofit foundation based in Zurich, Switzerland. The research comes amid increasing rates of early-onset breast cancer in women under 50, a trend that cannot be explained by genetics alone.
Jane Muncke, managing director and chief scientific officer at the Food Packaging Forum and coauthor of the study, stated, "There is strong evidence that 76 known or potential breast carcinogens from food contact materials recently purchased all over the world can be found in people." She further emphasized that eliminating these carcinogens from our food supply presents a significant opportunity for cancer prevention.
The study found that of the detected chemicals in food packaging, 40 are already classified as hazardous by regulatory agencies worldwide. Jenny Kay, a research scientist at Silent Spring Institute, a scientific research organization focused on the link between chemicals, women's health, and breast cancer, expressed concern that these hazardous chemicals are still permitted in food contact materials, allowing them to migrate into the food we consume.
The study compared the Silent Springs database of known carcinogens for breast cancer with the Database on Food Contact Chemicals Monitored in Humans (FCChumon). FCChumon, created by the Food Packaging Forum, is a list of food contact chemicals that have been detected in human breast milk, blood, urine, and tissues. The study found chemicals such as benzene, a known carcinogen connected to breast cancers in animals and people, and 4,4'-Methylenebis-(2-Chloroaniline), a probable carcinogen linked to bladder cancer, among others.
The study also found that while most of the exposure to carcinogens came from plastics used in food packaging, 89 suspected carcinogens were found in paper and cardboard containers. This highlights that plastics are not the only source of concern. The study also identified a number of the chemicals as bisphenols, phthalates, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS — chemicals that have been linked to many health concerns.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which is responsible for regulating potentially harmful substances in food and packaging, is currently reassessing how they manage chemicals in food additives and packaging. This reassessment comes after the FDA has been criticized for its slow response to health concerns about some 14,000 chemicals known to be added to food.